Seals for weftless tape



Dec. 12, 1961 WllA lllf lllly llllf/llll W. WADE SEALS FOR WEF'TLESS TAPE Filed Dec. 22, 1959 United States Patent i 3,012,297 SEALS FOR WEFTLESS TAPE Worth Wade, Rosemont, Pa., assignor to American Viseose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 22, 1959, Ser. N 861,252 3 Claims. (CI. 24-16) This invention relates to seals for securing the overlapping end of weftless tapes used for binding cartons, boxes and the like.

Weftless tapes comprising a multiplicity of strands secured together in side-by-side arrangement have been known for some time and have commonly been used for tying flower boxes and other light packages. Recently there has been introduced a weftlws tape formed of high tenacity cord type yarns which is used as an improved substitute for steel band strapping used extensively for binding shipping cartons, crates, etc. These latter high strength tapes are known as cord tapes andwhen used on shipping cartons and the like a satisfactory binding is not obtained by merely tying the ends together. The ends should be overlapped and secured by means of a seal as is the case with steel band strapping. However, since the tape is formed of a multiplicity of individual strands rather than as a structurally uniform flat band, the seals used with steel band strapping are not satisfactory for use with cord tapes.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide means for sealing the ends of cord tape without substantially decreasing the strength.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for rapidly and efliciently sealing the ends of cord tapes after they have been applied to an article without shearing or cutting the tapes.

Another object is to provide a seal for the ends of cord tapes which will lie substantially in the same plane as the tapes and thereby be resistant to abrasion and dislocation due to handling and shipping.

According to the present invention there is provided for cord tapes a seal adapted to apply pressure along the length of the cords and at a multiplicity of spaced points. In one embodiment of this invention the pressure is applied to the individual cord lengthwise over a substantial area of the cord. In a second embodiment, pressure is applied to the cords at spaced points along the length of each cord. The points of pressure on one cord are spaced from the points of pressure on the cords adjacent there- 0.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and object of the present invention reference should be made to the attached drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a carton with a cord tape disposed around it;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one embodiment of a seal in accordance with the present inventron;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the seal;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view of two cords showing the effects of the seal of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a third form of seal.

The cords may be formed of a fibrous material such for example as, natural or man-made cellulose fibers, synthetic resin fibers, fibers of glass, asbestos, and cords formed by twisting paper or non-fibrous films such as cellophane and polyethylene. The cords may be bonded together in parallel relation by non-tacky flexible adhesives such, for examples, as viscose solutions and solutions of Water soluble cellulose ethers, alkali soluble cellulose ethers, polyvinyl alcohol, as Well as solutions, suspen- 3,012,297 Patented Dec. 12, 1961 sions and emulsions of various synthetic resins such for example, as polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylonitrile, polyamids, polyesters and natural or synthetic rubber latices.

The seal may be made of metal or of a thermoplastic resin. The seal may be a flattened seamless tube or a flattened tube having a longitudinal seam, or, as shown in FIGURE 3, it may be U shaped and open at one side.

Referring to the drawing, a tape 10 formed of cords bonded together in parallel relation is disposed around an article 12 and the ends 13 and 14 of the tape are passed through a seal generally designated at 15 having a flattened tubular shape, and after this seal has been disposed over the ends of the cord, it is deformed by means of a suitable tool, the deformation causing pressure to be applied uniformly along the length of each cord or. at spaced points along the length of each cord.

In FIGURE 2, the seal is deformed to produce a series of longitudinal corrugations 16, the corrugations being equal to and conforming to the position of the several cords which comprise the tape, so that the respective ends 13 and 14 of the individual cords are squeezed together by the distortion of the seal, the pressure being exerted on the cord for the full length of the seal. The pressure exerted upon the overlapping cords increases the frictional resistance between such cords and prevents them from slipping one upon the other. On the other hand since the pressure is distributed over a substantial area of the cord, there is no breakage of the individual fibers.

In FIGURE 3, there is shown a second embodiment in which the ends 13 and 14 of the cord are disposed inside a flattened tube which forms a seal 17. A tool is employed to bear pressure on one or both surfaces of the tube to produce a multiplicity of depressions arranged in alternating rows 18 and 19 longitudinally of the seal. The depressions of rows 18 are offset or staggered with respect to the depressions of rows 19 so that adjacent cords of the tape are not deformed in areas adjacent one another. The effect of the depressions on two adjacent cords of the upper end 14 of the tape are shown in FIG- URE 4 wherein the deformations of the cords caused by depressions 18 are indicated at 18' and those caused by depressions 19 are shown at 19. It is important that the depressions 18 and 19 be rounded so that the individual fibers of the cords are not cut but that the cords are merely bulged out by the depressions as indicated in the drawing so that an interlocking of adjacent cords is obtained. Since the depressed areas 18 and 19 are not arranged along the same lines transversely of the tape, there is no tendency for the tape to break transversely. On the other hand, the frictional resistance created by the flattening and expansion of the cord under each of the depressions increases the resistance to separation of the ends of the tape.

In FIGURE 5 there is shown another embodiment in which the ends 13 and 14 of the tape are disposed within a seal 20, the seal being deformed by means of a suitable tool to provide a number of diagonal grooves 21. The bottom of the clip may be flat as shown in FIGURE 3 or it may be provided with diagonal grooves running at an angle to the grooves on the upper surface. In any case, the diagonal grooves tend to depress the cords at spaced points along their length, the points of depression of one cord being spaced from the points of depression of its adjacent cords. Accordingly, the cords are not depressed uniformly in a line transverse of the tape.

While various changes may be made in the material of which the seal is made and in the configuration of the depressions, it should be noted'that in all embodiments of this invention the individual cords are subjected to pressure over a substantial area of their length. Further when the individual cords are depressed at spaced points the depressions in one of the cords are spaced from the found that by depressing the cords at spaced points, the pressure at any point may be less than the pressure required to seal the tape by a single transverse depression, and there is substantially less tendency for the cord to break or shear transversely when employing the seal of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A package tie comprising a tape formed of a multiplicity of parallel cords lying in a common plane, said tape having its ends disposed in overlapping relation and enclosed in a metal seal, said seal being shaped to apply pressure to each of said cords at spaced points, the points of pressure on one cord being spaced longitudinally of the tape from the points of pressure on adjacent cords, said pressure points causing the enclosed cords to expand at spaced areas along the length of each cord, and the expanded areas of each cord interlocking between the expanded areas of the adjacent cords.

2. A package tie comprising a flexible tape formed of parallel strands lying in a common plane, said tape having ends positioned in overlapping relation in spaced parallel planes, a metal sleeve embracing the overlapping ends of said tape, said sleeve having spaced-apart wall sections engaging opposite faces of the overlapping ends of the tape,

4 and each of said wall sections having a series of parallel indentations extending diagonally thereacross, the indentations of one wall section being arranged at an angle with respect to the indentations of the'other wall section.

3. A package tie comprising a flexible tape formed of parallel strands lying in a common plane, said tape having ends positioned in overlapping relation in spaced parallel planes, a metal sleeve embracing the overlapping ends of said tape, said sleeve having spaced-apart wall sections engaging opposite faces of the overlapping ends of the tape, and each of said Wall sections having a series of parallel indentations extending diagonally thereacross.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,166,847 Miller July 18, 1939 2,251,402 Drew Aug. 5, 1941 2,845,670 Brown Aug. 5, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,197 Denmark Feb. 25, 1919 14,561 Australia May 1, 1929 73,877 Netherlands Jan. 15, 1954 

